1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hard disk inspection apparatus that is suitable for inspecting a contamination state of a surface and an end face of a magnetic disk that is used for a hard disk apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, recording densities of hard disk apparatus are being enhanced more and more, and head floating amounts are also becoming increasingly smaller. Consequently, not only are drop-outs caused by even minute particles, there is also an increased risk of particles becoming engaged with a head and damaging data. There is also a risk that the aforementioned damage may be caused by particles also moving to an inner circumferential face or an outer circumferential face of a disk, and not just to the recording surface. In particular, it is not possible to prevent an edge portion of a disk from contacting with a carrying case or a zip of a handling tool or equipment or the like, and an edge portion is also a source of particle generation because it has a corner. Because such particles move easily, they are liable to be the cause of a failure.
Further, according to magnetic transfer technology that previously writes information such as a servo signal onto a magnetic disk, it is necessary to bring a master disk (transfer source disk) and a slave disk (magnetic disk for transferring to) into close contact. However, a transfer fault arises when there is dust between the disks. Some of that dust is generated when manufacturing or transporting a slave disk, and which then adheres to and is introduced with the relevant slave disk. For dust that adheres to a disk in this manner, it is desirable that an inspection to determine the existence of dust is performed prior to such a transfer step, and that the dust is removed from a disk to which the dust adheres.
Conventionally, a magnetic disk that is used in a hard disk apparatus is inspected for the existence of defects or the adherence of particles on the surfaces thereof in a manufacturing step, and an inspection apparatus that uses a laser (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-9453) or an inspection apparatus that uses an image pickup camera such as a CCD are in practical use (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-162146 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-148088).